Fare evasion - articles discussion ...

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> TransLink misses chance to recoup $5m in fines for fare evasion

DESPITE suffering a $25 million loss to fare evasion every year, new figures reveal TransLink could have clawed back almost $5 million by issuing fines instead of warnings.

Documents released under Right to Information laws reveal TransLink issued 19,351 warnings for fare evasion in 2016 – about 370 every week. The fine for fare evasion is $243, which means the public transport provider missed out on about $4.7 million in protected revenue by dishing out warnings.

TransLink's Matt Longland says warnings are given to those who have "made a genuine mistake or error".

The documents show thousands more warnings were also issued for other offences.

LNP transport spokesman Andrew Powell said it was "unfair to let fare evaders off the hook" when the majority of commuters paid for their bus and train fares.

"The more than $4.5 million TransLink isn't collecting by letting fare evaders go scot-free is worn by the passengers who do the right thing," he said. "The LNP's track record on fare evasion and anti-social behaviour on public transport is one of action."

More than 1 million go cards were scanned for fare evasion in 2016, but only 9062 fines were issued – generating revenue of at least $2.2 million. According to TransLink, it loses up to $25 million across its network every year to fare evasion.

The head of TransLink, Matt Longland, said warning notices were issued as an education tool to those who had "made a genuine mistake or error".

"The vast majority of these warning notices are issued to persons under the age of 17," he said.

"TransLink's priority is to educate juveniles on ticketing requirements for travel rather than issuing penalty infringement notices."

Mr Longland said repeat ­offenders could be issued with a notice to appear in court, where a magistrate may impose a heftier penalty.

[ozbob]

 

[wbj]

So the LNP response to railfail is a bit of dog whistling?!  :conf

[ozbob]

The number of fixed fares from the last Tracker is 1.89%

Number of go card adjustments is 19/10,000 go card trips  (made cryptic deliberately I am sure .. ) = 0.19%

So on average  a fixed fare occurs once every 53 times a go card is used.  1.7% of all fixed fares are not adjusted, bit of windfall there too. 

It is not a very robust system and under some circumstances it is clearly not the punters fault.

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

2nd July 2017

Comment on article re failure to recoup fines for fare evasion

Good Morning,

Today published in the Sunday Mail is an article TransLink misses chance to recoup $5m in fines for fare evasion

In support of Mr Matt Longland's (DDG TransLink) comments in part:

' The head of TransLink, Matt Longland, said warning notices were issued as an education tool to those who had "made a genuine mistake or error".

"The vast majority of these warning notices are issued to persons under the age of 17," he said.

"TransLink's priority is to educate juveniles on ticketing requirements for travel rather than issuing penalty infringement notices."

Mr Longland said repeat ­offenders could be issued with a notice to appear in court, where a magistrate may impose a heftier penalty. '

The present go card ticketing is not particularly robust and is prone to user errors.

Looking at data from the latest TransLink Tracker Q3 2016-17 ( https://publications.qld.gov.au/dataset/translink-division-quarterly-reports/resource/664bd507-ec79-4d45-b1d1-dfb5a12208da )

The number of fixed fares from the last TransLink Tracker is 1.89%.

Number of go card adjustments is 19/10,000 go card trips = 0.19%

So on average  a fixed fare occurs ( an error ) once every 53 times a go card is used.  1.7% of all fixed fares are not adjusted, bit of $ windfall there too.

Clear that it is not a very robust system and under some circumstances it is not the punters fault.

Appropriate discretion is needed and should be exercised.

Best wishes
Robert

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org
RAIL Back On Track https://backontrack.org

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/882445043964944384

^

Didn't observe a single pax without go card / ticket .. 

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/brisbanetimes/status/885772237952794624

[verbatim9]

No wonder the bus drivers are striking next week.

[Cazza]

This is disgraceful. Bus drivers should not be worried about coming to work and getting knocked out by cowards. This is their job. They are helping out the community by providing a service. Their role is just as important as a CEO of a major company as they are getting out their and drivering hundreds, if not, thousands of citizens across the city each day. Bus drivers getting punched would be the same as someone walking through an office building and knocking someone out cold while sitting I front a computer. These cowards must be stopped and surely, heavy charges must be laid and hopefully jail time served.

[verbatim9]

Just on the 745 now from Broadbeach South to Nerang about 6 kids hopped on at Pac Fair not paying for the fare or touching on with a card. Bus driver let them and on and they were just calling out "fare evade" as boarding.

"Kids just taking the system for a ride"

[Otto]

Just on the 745 now from Broadbeach South to Nerang about 6 kids hopped on at Pac Fair not paying for the fare or touching on with a card. Bus driver let them and on and they were just calling out "fare evade" as boarding.

"Kids just taking the system for a ride"

I'm not surprised.
I and my wife had a week down at Coolangatta last month. We just parked the car for the week and only traveled using buses and the trams.
We did at least 4 bus trips each day and on every trip, I noticed people ( not just kids ) boarding and just walking to a seat. No fare paid. No travel card shown.
Bus drivers say nothing and I don't blame them. Translink have failed miserably with fare enforcement and just being there to show a presence. During our trips by Surfside bus, not one SNO was seen on the network.
My wife and I were wondering why the hell we should be paying a fare when the system seems to turn a blind eye to fare evasion.  I don't blame the drivers as the system of fair evasion is now so rampant of the mostly younger traveling public that any challenge may very well end badly.
I said G'day to every driver as I boarded, but only had 2 drivers reply. Seems to me they have had a gutful and are just not game to say anything these days.
It's a sad state of affairs I find the Surfside Drivers in. Seem to be let down by a system that offers them no support on the road.

Meanwhile, I found the Trams to be very different. We had our GoCards checked every 3rd of 4th time and the G:Link Staff were very considerate of interstate and elderly travelers who had difficulty understanding the use of GoCards. 

[verbatim9]

^^Yes I have been on G Link on a Sunday afternoon my Go card was check 3 times during the journey from Gold Coast Hospital to Surfers by three different teams.

I have never seen Translink Officers checking Go cards on any of the feeder buses 745, 760, 765, 709 or the 700. Might as well make those buses free because now its one rule for some and another rule for another.

[SurfRail]

You see SNOs about as often as you do in Brisbane - ie not very much.

[verbatim9]

I have seen them on the 130 and 333 especially on Sundays for some reason. I don't really notice people rortng the system as much on BCC buses. But Surfside buses seem to have a high occurrence of this behaviour as mentioned in the previous post.

[Cazza]

When I was in Sydney not too long ago, I got a train from the Airport to Central then changed onto a North Shore service (not to mention there was a train pulling up as I was walking down the stairs at the Airport and only had a 5 min wait at Central). At Central, I saw a group of ticket officers waiting around for a train to pull up (on another platform) and when my train was between Waverton and Wollstonecraft, another group was coming through the carriage. This was about 11am on a Friday.

[James]

SNOs seem to be around now and again on the busway, but not much elsewhere. I've also seen them on 345s a number of times - that was back in the TTCC days though, I bet the 345 through Kelvin Grove would have been a nice little earner.

I can't say I've ever seen an SNO on a 4XX bus service.

[ozbob]

A SNO on a 524 is rarer than wooden rocking-horse faeces ...  #justsaying

[Arnz]

There has been groups SNOs sighted riding Sunbus services during the last school holiday break. 

But apart from that, SNOs are usually rarely seen east of the railway line up the Coast.

[HappyTrainGuy]

What's an SNO?? Any relation to this NGR I've been seeing so much???

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/gclightrail/status/907014213385773057

[Otto]

Not sure where I should post this, but the final numbers are in for my 2017 noted fare evasions on all services I have done.
During 2017,   I estimate that I have provided 1,840 trips of which SNO's had only boarded on 3 trips to check tickets. All 3 occasions were on a BUZ route. What's the chances of getting caught doing the wrong thing. 
Fare evasions reached a record 272 for the year. If councils estimated 2300 full time drivers ( not counting casual or part time ) all had a similar number of evasions, that would total over 625,000 fare evaders at an average fare across the board of  $3.80 based on paper tickets would equal a fare deficit of $ 2,375.000.00 .
I expect the value would actually be higher as I've been conservative with my numbers.

As a comparison, when I holidayed on the Gold Coast during 2017, I had my GoCard checked on every 2nd or 3rd trip on the Trams with approx 20 trips taken.
Had about 25 trips on Surfside Buses and no SNO's were ever sighted and I observed that Surfside drivers seemed to have a bigger problem with fare evasion than Brisbane .

The Queensland Government needs to get serious with Fare Evasion.
I can honestly say that when I was driving Buses during the 80's / 90's , fare evasion was virtually non existent. Lucky to strike more than 5 in a year.
A lot of this I think has to do with the attitudes/morals of todays society.

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/954454278231359488

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Almost one in 10 people catch the Gold Coast tram for free

Almost one in 10 people ride Gold Coast trams for free, costing the state more than $1 million in lost revenue.

There were about 8.7 million passenger trips on Gold Coast light rail in 2016-17.

Taxpayers have missed out on $1.37 million in revenue due to fare evasion on the Gold Coast G:link.

Of those, it was estimated about 724,000 trips were taken without the fare being paid.

Based on the estimate, about 91.6 per cent of passengers paid for their journey.

The total revenue on the Gold Coast light rail would have been $16.4 million, of which about $1.37 million was lost through fare evasion.

The figures were revealed following a question on notice by LNP member for Currumbin Jann Stuckey, tabled in the Queensland Parliament.

LNP transport spokesman Steve Minnikin said the Palaszczuk government needed to investigate better ways of detecting fare dodgers on light rail to stop $1.3 million in taxpayer money being lost every year.

"People who refuse to pay their way only make public transport more expensive for everyone," Mr Minnikin said.

"Labor needs to look at fresh ways of encouraging everyone to do the right thing and pay for their travel."

A TransLink spokesman said the agency took fare evasion extremely seriously and sought to reduce the number of people dodging paying for public transport on the Gold Coast.

The spokesman said 30 customer service officers were employed by G:link who targeted fare evasion on the tram network, with nine TransLink senior network officers based on the coast covering all modes of public transport.

"There is an extensive communications plan in place to educate passengers and discourage fare evasion, including signage at stations and on board trams, and a tram wrap," he said.

TransLink, G:link and police conduct joint operations targeting fare evasion and anti-social behaviour on public transport on the Gold Coast, the spokesman said.

"TransLink SNOs work in conjunction with the Queensland Police Service to deter recidivist offenders," he said.

Fare evasion can result in a warning, a fine of $252 or repeat offenders can be issued a notice to appear in court, where a magistrate can impose larger penalties.

Fare evasion on the G:link is an estimate, as trams do not have a driver-operated "fare evade" button.

"This is due to passengers and the tram driver not directly interacting, as each tram is a multi-door, seven-car, 43-metre vehicle," Transport Minister Mark Bailey said, in response to Ms Stuckey's question.

The light rail fare evasion cost was calculated using independent, six-monthly intercept surveys, the total patronage and the average fare paid by passengers.

On Monday it was revealed the G:link service had carried almost 100,000 passengers each day since the start of the Commonwealth Games.

That was more than three times the daily average since the opening of the Gold Coast light rail stage two in December 2017.

Light rail services have been operating 24 hours a day during the Games, with services running every six minutes during peak event periods.

Prior to the Games, the highest number of daily passengers on the light rail network was 80,000, which occurred on the opening day of the light rail in July 2014.

People with tickets to the Commonwealth Games can travel on public transport for free.

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Fair evaders ignored in Games customer service drive

TRANSLINK ticket inspectors did not issue a single fine for fare evasion during the Commonwealth Games after they were ordered to focus on delivering "world-class customer service".

Documents leaked to The Courier-Mail reveal TransLink senior managers were so intent on creating a "relaxed feel" during the Games that they directed staff to ignore ticket dodgers, a decision that could have cost close to $1 million.

It was separately observed that ticket gates were left open at Gold Coast train stations during the Games to ease the movement of crowds. Non-attendees were still free to "touch on" or "off" with go cards or purchase paper tickets.

A TransLink spokesman confirmed that "creating a safe and secure transport network" was the priority during the Games, however did not answer a direct question about the cost of that decision.

"Given the record trip numbers and focus on assisting thousands of first time public transport users and visitors to the Gold Coast, there were no penalty infringment notices for fare evasion during the Games period on the Gold Coast," the spokesman said in a statement.

According to documents seen by The Courier-Mail, senior network officers, who roam between Brisbane and the Gold Coast on all modes of public transport, were told to "not actively conduct revenue protection duties".

A TransLink source said the SNOs were stripped of some of their authorised powers, including the ability to detain, use force or compel passengers to provide them with information, and were told to call police or security if they wanted to "escalate any concerns".

The TransLink spokesman denied SNOs were stripped of any powers, but said they used "partial powers" to prioritise assisting members of the travelling public.

"GC2018 security and law enforcement was undertaken by the Queensland Police Service and other officially deployed security personnel, with TransLink senior network officers focusing on providing world class customer service," he said.

SNOs were also ordered to leave their handcuffs in their lockers and not allowed to wear load-bearing vests, body cameras or utility belts.

They were provided with a uniform identical to other customer service officers to wear during the Games.

SNOs are specially trained as the "face of revenue protection" on the network, aiming to claw back some of the estimated $25 million lost to fare evasion each year.

TransLink recorded 5.3 million passengers on Gold Coast public transport during the Games.

Spectators, volunteers and Games workers were able to travel for free, however all other passengers required valid tickets.

Earlier this year the State Government estimated nearly 10 per cent of passengers on Gold Coast trams were fare dodgers, costing $1.37 million in lost fares.

Based on those figures, the total cost of TransLink's go-easy policy for the Games could have cost close to $1 million.

[ozbob]

Gold Coast Bulletin --> What bus free loaders cost taxpayers could help fix our worst roads

FARE evaders are ripping off almost $3 million a year from buses, confirming rorting remains rampant on the public transport system.

The Bulletin has previously reported that up to 500,000 passengers have barged on to buses without paying, with drivers hitting the fare evade button.

Similar rorting on the trams led authorities to mount a blitz, with almost 400 people caught in a month.

Transport Minister Mark Bailey told the Bulletin eight dedicated TransLink senior network officers at Southport were keeping passengers safe and providing a revenue protection service.

"Since January 1, 2018, network officers have deployed 2588 times on Surfside services and during this time they have issued about 1036 warnings and 208 penalty infringement notices,'' Mr Bailey said.

"Although it's not logistically possible to conduct revenue protection activities on all bus services, officers use an 'anywhere, anytime' approach to their patrols.

"Once on board a bus, their presence limits further fare evading as they are a highly visible deterrent, which in turn limits the number of fines issued."

Mr Bailey said the majority of the 38,000 passengers who use the system were doing the right thing.

But improved enforcement showed fare evaders in 2017-18 had ripped off $2.7 million from revenue.

"The revenue they are stealing could be reinvested in new and improved public transport services for all customers," he said.

"We need all travellers to accept their responsibilities and we will continue to take measures to stamp out fare evasion.

"I want to remind fare evaders that they face a penalty infringement notice of $261 if they are caught and can be hit with a maximum penalty of 40 penalty units or six months in jail for this offence."

Public transport lobby groups believe a key reason for fare evasion continues to be the cost of fares.

Rail Back on Track spokesman Robert Dow said fare evasion would be reduced if the Government agreed to freeze ticket prices for two years.

Mr Dow said the Government's decision to change fare structures and decrease the number of zones in December 2016 had a positive impact.

"We still think, on the feedback we're receiving, it's still a bit excessive," Mr Dow said.

"We still think the fares should be frozen for two years. We think that would help get rid of the perception it is unaffordable.

"Fare evasion on buses is amazingly high. Drivers will challenge people but let them on anyway. Smart arses know this and they work the system."

Mr Dow said the solution was more network enforcement officers as bus drivers should not be the "fare evasion police".

A Bulletin Golden Age survey conducted early this year revealed Gold Coasters would use public transport in big numbers if fares were "fairer''.

Seventy-six per cent of respondents said they would leave the car at home and catch a train to Brisbane if the fare was reduced by about half to $5.

[SurfRail]

Important to remember that Surfside gets over $80m to run its network each year so if it is only $3m, that is not a material reason for why service upgrades are not happening.

[ozbob]

Gold Coast Bulletin --> Gold Coast free loading bus gangs as drivers tired of being free service for louts

CHILDREN younger than 10 are regular fare evaders on Gold Coast buses, along with older teens using the city's expanding public transport network to meet up in gangs.

The fare evade button on Surfside Buslines was hit 1.67 million times in the 2017-18 financial year — three times the number recorded three years ago.

Children who refuse to pay are quick to remind drivers about Daniel Morcombe, who was left stranded at an unofficial Sunshine Coast bus stop before being abducted and killed in December 2003.

A frustrated driver told the Bulletin: "I believe the numbers are higher than given as it is nothing to have up to 60 people a day on my bus alone. On the school buses at least 90 per cent do not pay and don't have school passes."

Most fare evaders were younger than 18 and could not be fined, just given warnings.

"This group now believe that it is their right to free travel and it is the law," the driver said. "They all seem to quote Daniel Morcombe.

"It was started (accepting students without money or passes) to ensure that young persons were not left in unsafe areas. We are (now) considered their free taxi to wherever they want to go. I get people under the age of 10 fare evading."

The State Government figures released this month show fare evaders were ripping off almost $3 million a year as blitzes caught about 400 people each month.

Drivers estimate TransLink officers have appeared less than 10 times in a past year.

"Many of these young persons do damage to buses," the driver said. "I have had them squirt tomato sauce over seats, kick doors, harass other passengers, threaten myself and have had buses put out of service due to their actions.

"We take young kids to trams where they then meet in gangs and cause trouble. If we refuse to take them we can be sacked.

"They tell parents they are staying at someone's place and then go out partying and hanging out in gangs at locations like Southport, Broadbeach and Helensvale."

Currumbin MP Jann Stuckey described the Government's lack of action as "an absolute disgrace".

"They really haven't done the education campaign, they haven't increased the number of senior network officers," said Ms Stuckey, who has campaigned for more policing of fare evaders in the past three years.

"If they (the students) are collecting the bus money from their parents, what are they spending it on? It's a bad culture if we want to build pride in the city."

Transport Minister Mark Bailey said it was not possible to identify the number of students who had pressed the fare evade button.

TransLink employed a frontline team of 56 senior network officers to perform revenue protection work, he said.

Since January 1, the officers had been deployed 2588 times on Surfside buses and issued 1036 warnings and 208 penalty infringement notices, Mr Bailey said.

[Otto]

Fare Evasion is now totally beyond a joke..

I now feel that paying a fare is OPTIONAL..

We not only have the 'No Child left behind' policy ( which is fair in the way it was intended ) , except young people use it to suit their own purposes, but we have the politics of management which effectively prevents us from refusing ANYONE who does not wish to pay a fare.
As a result, the Evasion problem is growing exponentially and will just continue to get worse.
In my 37 years (full time) of driving a bus, I have never seen anything like this ( pre Daniel Morcombe R.I.P. )

[ozbob]

Thanks for the feedback Otto.  I agree, way past the joke stage.  It is now a very difficult situation for bus drivers.

Fare evasion is highest on buses in Melbourne and Sydney too.

Other than more active enforcement by SNOs I think there is little that will or can be done.  The authorities seem unable to manage it at all.

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

28th November 2018

Fare evasion - out of control on buses particularly

Good Morning,

There has been some media of late concerning the problems of fare evasion on SEQ buses.

For example:  Gold Coast Bulletin --> Gold Coast free loading bus gangs as drivers tired of being free service for louts

The broad policy of ' No child left behind ', itself a good thing,  but it has lead  to escalation of the fare evasion situation where bus drivers are now in the position of having to accept all passengers who do not want to pay their fare ( unofficial management policy ) .  This is to stop situations where bus drivers are potentially put at risk when disgruntled passengers are challenged. Sources have suggested the fare evasion rate is going up almost exponentially on buses in some regions, although there is no publicly released data to confirm this.

Unless there is more active enforcement by TransLink Senior Network Officers the battle is futile.  Either step up legal enforcement by those equipped to do it ( bus drivers are not in that position ) or make carriage free and look at other revenue sources to return the lost fares.

Bus drivers are becoming increasingly uncomfortable and upset with the situation. Fare paying passengers on buses who witness the rampant fare evasion are also becoming concerned.  It is time the issue was looked at seriously by the Minister for Transport and the transport authorities.

Best wishes,

Robert

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org
RAIL Back On Track https://backontrack.org

[ozbob]

Facebook ..

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/railbotforum/status/1067446661457170432

[techblitz]

the irritating issue here is translink have the data and know where the most fare evasion 'per capita' is occurring....but choose to treat those areas as secondary and only focus on high traffic areas like busways/uni routes or the rail lines.

This gives bus fare evaders in the high per capita areas like Ipswich,inala,woodridge,kingston etc essential free reign to take advantage of bus drivers...because they know that SNO`s very rarely appear...

https://seqtransit.henrus1.com/other-data/paper-ticket-boardings

that map gives up a lot on where the high per capita fare evading would be happening.....you can see the sea of yellow in areas such as calamvale or st lucia where minimal fare evasion would be happening...yet clear rainbows in the other areas..

What I regularly observe down @ inala

Passengers using the same paper tickets for return journeys on the same route number which is not allowed..
High amount of passengers trying to pull the high value note trick and hope the bus driver lets them on for free..
Kids getting free trips outside of school hours by pulling out their school id cards....they are only entitled to the free trip within a certain timeframe after school.
Then theres the ones with absolutely no money at all scrounging for a ride...

All of the above infuriate bus drivers but they are forced to deal with it...

[ozbob]

Public Transport Victoria's (PTV) October 2017 Fare Compliance Survey has some interesting data. See > https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/about-ptv/media-centre/media-releases/record-fare-compliance-on-victorias-regional-trains/ PTV publishes the fare evasion rates (see table below), something which is not done in SEQ (Queensland). Note, bus has the highest rate of non compliance. Data from Sydney follows a similar pattern with bus having the highest rates of fare evasion.

[ozbob]

Letter to the Editor Queensland Times 30th November 2018 page 11

Take fare evasion seriously

[Otto]

hi @otto

Those fare evasion stats listed in your profile for the last year are concerning....
75%+ increase and only 3 boardings by snos..

Just wondering if you can recall certain routes or stops where there is the most fare evasion happening?? Southbank perhaps?

Happy New Year all !!

Fare evasion is growing, no doubt about it.
In the current political landscape both state ( QLD ) and local ( BCC ) , there is no hope of anything changing for the better anytime soon..

As for evasion hotspots, I find that it will happen anywhere, anytime.
Westfield Carindale, Cultural Centre, Southbank and Wooloongabba are the places that we expect evasion to be more frequent, and that would be the same for all of the larger shopping centres and transport hubs around Brisbane.
The 222 and 61 routes make up about 75% of my work and about 90-95% of my reported fare evasions.
I only work the late shifts and miss the busier daytime trips which do have a higher evasion percentage.

The evasion figure for 2018 is the total from 40 weeks or 200 days or 1600 trips on the road in service of which SNO's only boarded 3 trips to check GoCards and Tickets.
No wonder most bus passengers have never seen a SNO.

[ozbob]

Just departed Goodna rail. Major ticketing operation in progress. 12 QPS 6 SNOs.
I suggested they should go for a few bus trips ...
🙄

[brissypete]

Just departed Goodna rail. Major ticketing operation in progress. 12 QPS 6 SNOs.
I suggested they should go for a few bus trips ...

Saw similar at South Bank last week.

Sent from my G8141 using Tapatalk

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Teens abuse Morcombe-inspired policy to evade bus fares

Young people are allegedly abusing the "no child left behind" policy implemented after the death of schoolboy Daniel Morcombe to avoid paying for bus tickets.

There has been a spike in fare evasion on public transport, particularly on school buses, costing the state about $25 million a year in lost revenue.

Last financial year, Queensland's school bus drivers recorded more than 1.53 million fare evasions, compared with about 875,000 the previous year.

The trend was mirrored on urban bus services, where there were almost 600,000 more fare evasions in 2017-18, compared with 1.06 million the year before.

The figures were released following an LNP question on notice.

Transport Minister Mark Bailey said the majority of passengers did the right thing, but there was clearly a growing problem with fare evasion on public transport.

Mr Bailey said "older teenagers" were taking advantage of the state government's duty of care.

"Bus drivers have told us about groups of young people who demand free travel, telling the drivers they have to let them on or the drivers could lose their job," he said.

"This kind of behaviour can cause other passengers to feel unsafe and more free rides means less revenue for new and improved public transport services."

The claim previously surfaced in 2012, when then LNP transport minister Scott Emerson said children were exploiting the principle, put in place after Daniel, 13, was abducted from a bus stop on the Sunshine Coast in December 2003.

Figures released recently revealed almost 900 children were left behind at bus stops in 2017-18.

Mr Bailey said he told TransLink to hire up to 16 new senior network officers, adding to the current workforce of 55 officers, to patrol the network.

"Officers handed out more than 17,000 fines for public transport ticketing offences last financial year, but it's not possible to have SNOs on every bus, train, tram or ferry," he said.

"We're committed to ensuring young and vulnerable passengers can get home safely but we need to have the conversation with our community about fare evasion and the best way to deal with it."

Mr Bailey said a roundtable would be held in April, with experts across government, community services and education to share their views on how to discourage fare evasion and behavioural issues.

"We'll use it as an opportunity to discuss policy options, enforcement, penalties and whether we need more education or early intervention programs," he said.

"It will also look at how our frontline staff deal with fare evasion and discuss whether legislative changes would have an impact."

LNP transport spokesman Steve Minnikin said blaming school children for an inability to curb fare evasion was a "new low".

"Bus operators have been dealing with a surge in fare evasion and anti-social behaviour for the past two years," he said.

"Without appropriate enforcement action, the majority of honest, fare-paying passengers are forced to pay more to cover the losses from fare evaders."

Greens MP Michael Berkman said the issue was a "distraction".

"If we made public transport free for every kid in Queensland it would cost just $56 million per year and we could all focus on more important issues," he said.

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1106213121339736070